I divide the 7 sons of Feanor into 3 groups: the oldest, the youngest, and the troublemakers.
Me too! M&M, the 3Cs, and double-A. That was my mnemonic when first learning all the Silm characters! :D
I comfortably put Caranthir in with the rest and class the 3Cs as "those not well-regarded by history." The others get neutral, or even positive, depictions, but no one has much nice to say about the 3Cs.
So, those are my three 'candidates' (I voted Maglor) with the understanding that you can have a 'kinder, gentler' Dark Lord.
Totally agreed. I find it hard to justify some of the pie-eyed Maglors I find in fanfic for this very reason, especially given the wealth of "canon" that is passed over in order to come up with that characterization.
But I settled on 'doubting the Oath' - a willingness to rethink a position that the others took for granted. It shows his humility (I mean, for a proud Noldo), to admit that he might just have been wrong all along.... Letting Maedhros talk him out of this showed his to-a-fault loyalty
I hadn't thought on this too much before this poll, to be honest. (So when I speak of fans who overlook some events of his life in favor of others, I point to myself. ;) I've always seen his willingness to forsake the oath as a sign of great courage; he did not know what lay beyond that choice, but he was willing to make it. I completely agree with your explanation as well.
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rosecarmine
(no subject)
Date: 2009-05-10 01:53 pm (UTC)I divide the 7 sons of Feanor into 3 groups: the oldest, the youngest, and the troublemakers.
Me too! M&M, the 3Cs, and double-A. That was my mnemonic when first learning all the Silm characters! :D
I comfortably put Caranthir in with the rest and class the 3Cs as "those not well-regarded by history." The others get neutral, or even positive, depictions, but no one has much nice to say about the 3Cs.
So, those are my three 'candidates' (I voted Maglor) with the understanding that you can have a 'kinder, gentler' Dark Lord.
Totally agreed. I find it hard to justify some of the pie-eyed Maglors I find in fanfic for this very reason, especially given the wealth of "canon" that is passed over in order to come up with that characterization.
But I settled on 'doubting the Oath' - a willingness to rethink a position that the others took for granted. It shows his humility (I mean, for a proud Noldo), to admit that he might just have been wrong all along.... Letting Maedhros talk him out of this showed his to-a-fault loyalty
I hadn't thought on this too much before this poll, to be honest. (So when I speak of fans who overlook some events of his life in favor of others, I point to myself. ;) I've always seen his willingness to forsake the oath as a sign of great courage; he did not know what lay beyond that choice, but he was willing to make it. I completely agree with your explanation as well.